Freight Visibility in covid times.

Recently, the world was transfixed as we experienced the blockage of one of the most important passages in the world, the Suez Canal. In this blog post, we’ll explore the implications this had on the global supply chain and how it brought to light the importance of visibility technology.

The Suez Canal is among the most trafficked waterways in the world, accounting for About 12% of global trade (Bloomberg). During the six-day-long blockage, about 360 vessels were waiting to transit the canal. These vessels were responsible for trade valued at $9billion per day, causing a severe impact on the global trade economy and the supply chain.

As the blockage stopped the transit of consumer goods worth billions, there were consequences throughout the supply chain. From delayed deliveries to container shortages, the blockage produced a ripple effect on the global supply chain that could take weeks, even months to clear.

While there are many takeaways from this incident, it certainly illustrated the importance of visibility technology. There will always be a global impact from any such event — with the current emphasis on lean and JIT supply chains, the smallest disruption can cause massive downstream implications. Luckily, some of that impact can be minimized through the effective use of visibility tools.

Retailers and manufacturers without visibility into the status of their orders are effectively handcuffed by their lack of information. That order due next week could show up on time or it could be substantially delayed. Without any level of supply chain visibility, nobody knows. This lack of supply chain data leaves companies in a sort of limbo, hoping for the best that their products show up as planned.

For any company in the supply chain, having visibility into your orders gives them something very important — options.

A steamship line seeing a blockage has the option of being delayed at the Suez Canal or taking a different route.

A manufacturer seeing a delayed shipment has the option of waiting for the delayed product or sourcing from a different supplier.

A restaurant expecting a shortage of product has the option to ration existing supplies until a new shipment comes in.

Visibility technology has become a must for logistics companies. It provides data to help companies make educated decisions and take preventative measures in the event of a problem. In today’s era of technology, companies need to incorporate technology into their supply chain strategy and visibility platforms have become an essential tool

To learn more about the value of Freight Tech, visit us at powerbykinetic.com.